While we are waiting we decided to take a couple pictures that we could hang. Andy and I went out and he took the photos himself (even the ones we are both in). I think they turned out great and now the task of choosing just one to hang on the wall in the baby room.

It ended up being harder than I think he was originally thinking to get the shots I wanted without someone taking the pictures of us. We went out a couple times to take the pictures and play with the shots that we wanted to get. Part of the problem being having a thought in our heads of what we wanted in the picture, they weren’t always the same, and then figuring out how to take that shot with a remote or timer on the camera instead of someone holding the camera and making adjustments.

For now the idea is to display one in the baby room we have been working on, have a couple to display in a frame down in the living room, and maybe use some of them for a baby book eventually. We would have loved to have gotten the dogs involved but that just wasn’t going to happen as Jasmine just wants to sleep and Etta can’t sit still for anything!

So in addition to taking a short vacation over the holiday week and traveling to see family to celebrate Thanksgiving Andy and I also had a busy week talking to a potential birth mother. We were so excited about the contact and it made the week seem like it went by so slow since the Independent Adoption Center was closed for the holiday most of the week and it was hard to get answers at times.

We were really hoping that this time, after all of the time talking to her would lead to a match for us and we would begin the next phase of the adoption and instead of waiting to be picked be waiting for placement. In the end she ended up deciding that she was not going to place for adoption at this time.

While it was hard to hear that another potential match was not going to choose us we just have to believe that if it would have been the right baby and birth mother for us we would have matched. It does seem like every contact we have we get closer and closer to a match so maybe the next time will be the right one for us.

Our first contact with a birth mother was just a single phone call and even after the end of the call Andy and I were not sure we were interested in matching with her even if she chose us. Next we were emailing and talking on the phone with a birth mother that we absolutely thought was the perfect fit for us. After a week of lots of communication though she just stopped talking to us and we found out she decided to match with someone local to where she lived.

Now with this birth mother we had all been talking about the possibility of matching and what that would look like and what we all hoped for in the future. If she hadn’t decided that she was going to parent Andy and I believe that we would have matched in the near future. We hope that she gets the support that she needs in the future to raise her child and we really feel that if she thinks it is for the best that it will be the right decision for her.

Here is to hoping for a happy rest of the year and a great new year where we will hopefully realize our dream of expanding our family!

This past weekend Andy and I attended an Infant CPR class. It has been a really long time since I was certified in CPR and the rules and actions were not as clear as we would like if something were to ever happen so we decided it would be good to take a class so we know what to do first. It was really informative and while some of it was a review there was also some new information and rules on what you should be doing.

The class covered infant CPR, proper sleeping, and also choking. It was lead by a doctor who used to be an emergency pediatrician and even though there was a movie that we watched to give a lot of the information he also answered lots of questions and watched as we practiced to tell us if we were doing it right.

We are definitely glad that we were able to take this class and will probably look into some of the other infant care classes that are offered at Babies R Us (where we attended the class). With how much I enjoy being prepared and at times during the adoption process feeling like there is no control for us, it is another step that we have taken in the direction of having a child in our home to raise and care for.

Since Andy and I are not quite sure when a little one will be joining our family we decided to take one last trip just the two of us. It wasn’t anything big like we have done in the past since both of our jobs are a little crazy right now and we couldn’t afford to take a lot of time off. Never the less, three days in New Orleans ended up being a great trip.

We arrived on Saturday mid day about and unlike in years past we did not get to research all of the activities that we wanted to do and where to go for different things too much. So, on Saturday we took the afternoon to just wander around the French Quarter looking for possible restaurants and places to visit or shop. The weather wasn’t the greatest but it was at least dry. After wandering around we did an early dinner that was delicious! Andy wanted to find out what the sauce was on his red fish and somehow get a bottle of it to take home, this never ended up happening. After 5 miles of walking, 6 hours of driving, and a huge dinner I was exhausted and it was only 7pm. I fell asleep sometime over the next hour while Andy was busy watching football.

Sunday started early as we wanted to get out before all the drunken crowds started coming out into the city. It ended up being a great idea since there were so few people walking around. Most of the day went by fast with Andy getting some great pictures of some of the things in the French Quarter, some delicious beignets at Café Du Monde (a must), wandering the market and picking up a couple ideas or things for Christmas presents, and eating more delicious food. Ironically we went to a little bar to watch some football and eat some lunch and managed to find a bar that was full of people from Illinois (including at least a few Illini that I could see). We seemed to walk all over on Sunday and by the end of the day realized we had walked 10 miles over the course of the day. Exhausting to say the least!

Our final day was not the greatest for weather and so several of our plans for the day ended up getting scrapped in lieu of being outside in the rain all afternoon. We did go to the World War II Museum though and Andy loved it. It had some great exhibits and a lot of videos or interactive displays which is great instead of just having a lot of information to read about. In the end not running around all day seeing everything that was planned was a great way to spend the last day of our vacation alone since we were heading to be with family the next morning for the holiday.

The weekend might not have included a lot of partying or drinking but it did involve a lot of sleeping and since we won’t be getting much of either when the bundle of joy graces us with their presence I for one was much happier getting the sleep!